Modern architecture is often deplored as stark, style-less and “cookie-cutter.” According to two Westside architects, it doesn't
have to be that way.
Larry Gilland has proved that point in the past couple of years by designing two buildings on Colorado Avenue that look as if
they could have been built in the 19th century. The Victorian-style structures, at 1331 W. Colorado (which he co-designed with
Rand Stockton) and at 1216 W. Colo-rado, took first and second place in the New Construction category of the recent
Organization of Westside Neighbors (OWN) Spirit Awards.
Gilland and Stockton each have offices at 1331, while the builder of both structures (Palace Homes) is situated at 1216.
The two architects enjoy designing in the detail-conscious Victorian style. “It's a shame it has gone away from that,” Gilland said,
describing it as a style that “brings people out on their front porches, talking to their neighbors.”
The fact is, according to Stockton, classic construction styles are far from a lost art. Many of the decorative niceties are now
pre-made and can be ordered from a catalog, whereas in the old days craftsmen had to build them by hand.
There still is a greater cost, but not excessive. For example, putting extra touches on the new craftsman-style homes under
construction in the 1800 block of Cucharras Street (which Stockton designed) will only add about $1,000 more to the cost of
each dwelling, he estimated.
The end result, similar to the two Colorado Avenue buildings, will be giving the Westside more of that “this-side-of-town look,”
Stockton said.
The buildings at 1216 and 1331 W. Colorado are both mixed-use (business with some residential).